Mr. Speaker, I rise to present petitions from dozens of people from Ontario requesting the House of Commons and the Government of Canada to support Motion No. 383 and vigorously participate in the international effort urging the Government of the People's Republic of China to ensure the safe passage of North Korean refugees to South Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of a number of my constituents on a matter which has been dealt with sensibly over the past couple of years by an organization called CASE, which stands for Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation. This petition deals with the subject matter of child pornography and victimization, which obviously is a very important issue to this honourable House.

The petitioners point out to Parliament that the creation, use and circulation of child pornography is condemned by a clear majority of Canadians, and that the CRTC, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, and Internet service providers have the responsibility for the content that is being transmitted to Canadians, and that anyone who uses the Internet to facilitate any sexual offences involving children is committing an offence.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to stop the Internet as a medium for the distribution of child victimization and pornography.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member for Hochelaga to the House. His predecessor was very active in the House and I expect that the member will also be distinguished for his constituents.

The debate on the budget has been somewhat wide ranging, but from my own constituents, I am hearing a bit of concern about putting too much focus on just doing whatever it takes to eliminate the deficit, that even if there are wishes, they have to give people hope. People have also said that to go beyond two years would be guessing. There is no certitude. That is when most of this happens. If the government should happen to be successful in simply balancing the budget again, what condition would the country be in at the end of those five years?

This budget does not have a vision. It does not indicate the shape that Canada is going to be in. It does not anticipate the consequences of an aging society, the impact upon the quality of life of our seniors, our health care system, the opportunities for our youth, our status in the world. These are significant areas which the budget and the budget speech did not address. This is simply a mathematical exercise, hopefully to keep things quiet for a year until the Conservatives can have another election and then do their dirty work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his words of welcome, although I was here in December.

We have spoken at length about eliminating the deficit and this kind of budgetary exercise. If this document achieves the desired results in five years, it will be more likely be due to luck, rather than the science of the finance department.

I used to be a public servant. People used to say that in times of crisis, the only person who is likely to be happy is the economist who predicted the crisis.

Where will Canada be in five years? It is our hope that Quebec will no longer be part of Canada at the end of the period targeted by this budget.

Jacques GourdeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, in his first speech my colleague said that the Bloc Québécois did a tour of Quebec. I can tell him that the hon. members from the Bloc were very discreet when they passed through Chaudière-Appalaches because I did not see them go by.

In addition to consulting, our Quebec caucus goes everywhere in the regions of Quebec to spread the good news, namely that our government is investing in infrastructure—bridges, roads, arenas, multi-purpose centres, community centres and arts and cultural centres. This demonstrates the leadership quality of our entire team in Quebec.

We have also consulted farmers. Cattle producers had a problem related to specified risk materials. We listened. In the budget, on page 98, you will find the initiatives that will allow us to solve a major problem. Our producers need this.

Why did the hon. member for Hochelaga say yesterday that he is going to vote against the budget and against the initiatives for cattle producers who are in great need? How will my colleague explain to all the producers in the regions of Quebec that he voted against these very important measures?